The farm barn, next to the farm house, is the most important structure
of the farm itself, in the Northern and Middle States; and even at the
south and southwest, where less used, they are of more importance in the
economy of farm management than is generally supposed. Indeed, to our
own eyes, a farm, or a plantation appears incomplete, without a good
barn accommodation, as much as without good household appointments--and
without them, no agricultural establishment can be complete in all its
proper economy.
The most _thorough_ barn structures, perhaps, to be seen in the United
States, are those of the state of Pennsylvania, built by the German
farmers of the lower and central counties. They are large, and expensive
in their construction; and, in a strictly economical view, perhaps more
costly than required. Yet, there is a substance and durability in them,
that is exceedingly satisfactory, and, where the pecuniary ability of
the farmer will permit, may well be an example for imitation.
In the structure of the barn, and in its interior accommodation, much
will depend upon the branches of agriculture to which the farm is
devoted. A farm cultivated in grain chiefly, requires but little room
for stabling purposes. Storage for grain in the sheaf, and granaries,
will require its room; while a stock farm requires a barn with extensive
hay storage, and stables for its cattle, horses, and sheep, in all
climates not admitting such stock to live through the winter in the
field, like the great grazing states west of the Alleghanies. Again,
there are wide districts of country where a mixed husbandry of grain and
stock is pursued, which require barns and out-buildings accommodating
both; and to supply the exigencies of each, we shall present such plans
as may be appropriate, and that may, possibly, by a slight variation,
be equally adapted to either, or all of their requirements.
It may not be out of place here, to remark, that many _designers_ of
barns, sheds, and other out-buildings for the accommodation of farm
stock, have indulged in fanciful arrangements for the convenience and
comfort of animals, which are so complicated that when constructed,
as they sometimes are, the practical, common-sense farmer will not use
them; and, in the _learning_ required in their use, are altogether unfit
for the use and treatment they usually get from those who have the daily
care of the stock which they are intended for, and for the rough usage
they receive from the animals themselves. A very pretty, and a very
plausible arrangement of stabling, and feeding, and all the etceteras of
a barn establishment, may be thus got up by an ingenious theorist at the
fireside, which will work to a charm, as he dilates upon its good
qualities, untried; but, when subjected to experiment will be utterly
worthless for practical use. All this we, in our practice, have gone
through; and after many years experience, have come to the conclusion
that the simplest plan of construction, consistent with an economical
expenditure of the material of food for the consumption of stock, is by
far the most preferable.
Another item to be considered in this connection, is the comparative
value of the stock, the forage fed to them, and the _labor_ expended in
feeding and taking care of them. We will illustrate: Suppose a farm to
lie in the vicinity of a large town, or city. Its value is, perhaps, a
hundred dollars an acre. The hay cut upon it is worth fifteen dollars a
ton, at the barn, and straw, and coarse grains in proportion, and hired
labor ten or twelve dollars a month. Consequently, the manager of this
farm should use all the economy in his power, by the aid of
cutting-boxes, and other machinery, to make the least amount of forage
supply the wants of his stock; and the internal economy of his barn
arranged accordingly; because labor is his cheapest item, and food the
dearest. Then, for any contrivance to work up his forage the closest--by
way of machinery, or manual labor--by which it will serve the purposes
of keeping his stock, is true economy; and the making, and saving of
manures is an item of the first importance. His buildings, and their
arrangements throughout, should, on these accounts, be constructed in
accordance with his practice. If, on the other hand, lands are cheap and
productive, and labor comparatively dear, a different practice will
prevail. He will feed his hay from the mow, without cutting. The straw
will be either stacked out, and the cattle turned to it, to pick what
they like of it, and make their beds on the remainder; or, if it is
housed, he will throw it into racks, and the stock may eat what they
choose. It is but one-third, or one-half the labor to do this, that the
other mode requires, and the saving in this makes up, and perhaps more
than makes up for the increased quantity of forage consumed. Again,
climate may equally affect the mode of winter feeding the stock. The
winters may be mild. The hay may be stacked in the fields, when
gathered, or put into small barns built for hay storage alone; and the
manure, scattered over the fields by the cattle, as they are fed from
either of them, may be knocked to pieces with the dung-beetle, in the
spring, or harrowed and bushed over the ground; and with the very small
quantity of labor required in all this, such practice will be more
economical than any other which can be adopted. It is, therefore, a
subject of deliberate study with the farmer, in the construction of his
out-buildings, what plans he shall adopt in regard to them, and their
fitting up and arrangement.
With these considerations before us, we shall submit such plans of barn
structures as may be adapted for general use, where shelters for the
farm crops, and farm stock, are required; and which may, in their
interior arrangement, be fitted for almost any locality of our country,
as the judgment and the wants of the builder may require.